"I love the way the Twins have gone about their business," Anaheim Angels General Manager Bill Stoneman said. "To me, they would be an ideal model."

It starts at the top. Not with owner Carl Pohlad, the penurious billionaire, but with long-suffering GM Terry Ryan. He sets the tone of excellence and understated confidence that filters down through the rest of the baseball side.

"Terry's a scouting guy and really understands that well," Stoneman said. "They scout as well as anybody, they develop players well and they give young players opportunity. I think all three of those add up to a pretty healthy organization. Certainly it has paid dividends for the Twins. To me, they've got an ideal organization."

Ryan, not surprisingly, demurred when presented with Stoneman's analysis. He pointed out the Twins have merely posted consecutive winning seasons, something they had not done in a decade and just seven times in their four decades in the Twins Cities.

In fact, the Twins have posted as many as three straight winning seasons just once in their history: 1965-67, including a 102-win World Series season the first year.

Model organization?

"That's good to hear," Ryan said. "But people have to realize we went through a lot of lean years to get to this point. The one thing you're always going to have to have is ownership back you up.

"It's no fun losing 90-plus games a number of years in a row. We did that. We lost 97 games in '99. We lost 93 games in 2000. Those are tough years to stomach. It's tough to keep the interest level up, it's tough to keep attendance up."

Twins' attendance sagged to the point where Selig and Pohlad conspired to eliminate the franchise last winter. Thankfully, so-called contraction never happened and has since been tabled until after the 2006 season, at least.

By then, the Twins should have several more division titles under their belt and possibly an even bigger prize.

"If you're going to go that [rebuilding] route, you've got to be patient and you've got to be prepared for some tough go," Ryan said. "Oakland's been the type of small-market club that a lot of us look at because they've been in the postseason three years in a row. Until we do something of that nature, I'm not sure people would all of a sudden make Minnesota the blueprint.

"If we get into the postseason where it's a habitual situation, then you start pointing to what we're doing right. I've looked at Oakland, and they're more of a blueprint for small-market teams. They've sustained it. They've been very competitive. They've won 100 games a couple years in a row. They're pretty good."

While the A's have managed to withstand the losses of such free agents as Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Jason Isringhausen and cycled through the likes of Kevin Appier, Ben Grieve, Gil Heredia, Scott Spiezio and Matt Stairs during their remarkable run, the Twins will have some tough decisions to make this winter as well.

Early estimates peg $55 million as the price for keeping this group intact, but no one expects Pohlad to jack up the payroll that much. Four Twins regulars are eligible for arbitration -- Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, Doug Mientkiewicz and David Ortiz -- and veteran reliever Mike Jackson is their only prospective free agent.

While Hunter has made it clear he would like to sign a multiyear extension, Ryan can't commit to that yet. First, he must find a way to juggle the books and retain as many core players as possible.

With corner outfield depth in the form of Dustan Mohr, Bobby Kielty and Michael Cuddyer, it's likely the Twins will trade Jones, who was out of sorts as a leadoff man anyway. Veteran right-hander Rick Reed, due to make $8 million next year, could be another cost-cutting casualty.

A strong farm system will enable the Twins to cycle in the likes of young right-hander Adam Johnson and power-hitting outfielder Michael Restovich next season, but the rest of the rotation and one of the game's best young infields likely returns untouched.

A few years down the road, when catcher A.J. Pierzynski grows too expensive, hometown kid Joe Mauer, the former top overall pick, should be ready to step in. First baseman Justin Morneau could eventually replace Mientkiewicz as well.

That's how you sustain success near the bottom of the payroll charts. That's how you build a model organization.